If you applied for your MBA degree this past year, you might (unfortunately) be all too familiar with what the word “dinged” means in the context of MBA applications.

To put it bluntly for those who don’t know, it means that you didn’t get in – that you were rejected from your ideal school. Turned down. Cast aside. Thrown away. Stripped of your dreams, and basically told in no uncertain terms: NO.

And, if you’re like most MBA applicants, especially those who applied to some of the most competitive MBA or EMBA programs around (including but not limited to HBS, Wharton, Kellogg, Booth, Stanford, Columbia, or MIT Sloan) and THEN got rejected when you thought you were really in the running…you probably actually have no idea at all what happened, or why you were, in fact, turned down at all.

Admissions committees leave you in dark when it comes to not getting in.

But, if you are now thinking of applying again for next year, after you already got rejected and you have already made this failed first attempt, you really need to understand:

1). Why you were “Dinged,” and

2). Exactly what you need to do to repair and improve your chances this year when you submit your application again.

Too many applicants simply try again with the same application! This is a horrible, horrible, plan of action as getting “dinged” was not just an oversight of the admissions committee. It means that there was something wrong with your application that you, now, absolutely need to understand, repair, and fix.

So, it’s not just all about taking the GMAT again and trying to raise your GMAT score (though that’s always a good thing), BUT your GMAT score more than likely truly didn’t make or break you. Something else did, either in your essays, your job experience, your interview or perhaps you have something on your social media sites online that really shouldn’t be out there if you’re trying to make a good impression (and, yes, they do look).

Most of the time though, it’s usually about knowing how to add more detailed examples to your MBA essays that better exemplify your points, fine-tuning your “story” or career narrative so it really shows your “journey,” and either gaining extra experience on the job, or better highlighting and emphasizing certain experience you already have but perhaps overlooked along with discussing your goals and skills in a way that can make you look even more valuable as a potential candidate to admissions.

However, you MUST first understand why you were turned down. You can’t improve if you don’t know.

I am currently offering a flat rate “Ding Evaluation” if you have been turned away from one or perhaps many of your choice schools. Understanding what happened before you apply again is key, so you have the time to make the serious improvements you need.

You can contact me through my website below, and specify “Ding Evaluation” in the note and we will figure out what went wrong for a great new application and chance at your dreams!

I’m a former Harvard interviewer and a Harvard graduate and currently run the MBA admissions firm MBA IVY LEAGUE in Manhattan. I work with students all over the world, and you can reach me through my website: www.MBAIvyLeague.com

Top MBA Interview Questions – What Can You Expect?

Are you one of the lucky ones? Have you been invited to interview at one of the top-tier MBA programs you applied to in Round 2? Even if you’re now just applying Round 3, the below can help you learn what kinds of questions admission officers are asking this year, and what tips can help you give the best impression possible!

1. “Tell me about your career choices since leaving college?”

What interviewers are looking for here, is what I call a “logical progression.” They’re looking to see a focused path regarding both how and why you moved from point A to point B, to point C, and if you don’t have a focused path (which accounts for a large amount of applicants, so don’t worry) they simply want to see and understand the reasons you jumped around. It has to sound LOGICAL. It has to add up to who and where you are NOW.

The main thing that will get you dinged here? Impulsiveness – that’s what this question is trying to screen out. They want to make sure you’re just not all over the place and flaky, because then, you know, you may leave the program, too.

2. “What accomplishment are you most proud of at your current job?”

Here, the interviewer is trying to get a sense of the amount of responsibility you hold in your current position, as the thing you are most proud of will not only (most likely) show off your best strength as an employee, but will show what character trait you actually value most – and that gives them great information about YOU.

The main thing that will get you dinged with this question? Not speaking up with confidence or failing to explain or back up your answer.

3. “When have you strongly differed in opinion from someone at work?”

Give your best example that hada positive outcome! Admissions is trying to see if you have what it takes to speak up and make a serious difference in your workplace, but also are looking for you to describe how there was a positive solution to the difference that ended up working in your favor. If your example didn’t work out in your favor – choose another example!

4. “What is an example of something really difficult you’ve had to go through, or important event in the last 5-7 years?”

Again, here the committee is trying to get a sense of your professional journey and what stands out in your mind, which is going to parallel highly with what you most value. They are simply trying to understand who you are professionally, and how you see yourself in relation to others.

The one thing that will get you dinged on this question? Not having a strong and solid answer. It’s really not so much what you say, but how you say it. Always speak with confidence as the fastest thing to get you dinged on all of your questions is a wishy-washy, weak, one-word response.

5. “Why an MBA now, and why our school?”

Most likely, you already wrote an essay for this question, so just review all of your essays before going into your interview. Your answer to the first part, “Why an MBA now?” should really take into consideration why NOW is, in fact, the most logical time to get your degree. The word “now” is key. They want to see the logic behind your decision.

The second part, “Why HBS, Wharton, Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan or NYU Stern?” just to name a few, should focus on the particular program’s attributes that are specific to your career.

What they are trying to screen for in this question, is again, impulsiveness = they don’t like it. Everything you do, even if your career so far hasn’t been as smooth or uninterrupted as you would like, should still have a reason, an explanation, an arc, a journey as if everything you’ve done to get you where you are still has value – value that can be used and drawn upon now in your current career.

In the end, your interview should be conversational, dynamic, and engaging! In other words, just try to have a very real and engaging conversation. If you’ve gotten this far, it’s a very good sign that you are already on your way!

[I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard graduate. I currently run the MBA admissions firm: MBA IVY LEAGUE out of NYC. I provide expert advice on MBA essays and applications to students all over the world, and offer free initial consultations, so please contact me today! www.MBAIvyLeague.com]

HBS, Wharton, Columbia, NYU Stern, Kellogg, Booth, they’re all the same when it comes to one thing: “dings.” If you’re applying for your MBA degree this year, you’re probably all too familiar with what that little word means. “Dings” are the marks made against you on your MBA application, the things you’ve done wrong, your failings, the things that will keep you from the MBA degree and business school and career of your dreams. “Dings” are MBA slang for really, really bad.

What if you knew ahead of time though, the top five things that you could avoid that would make sure an MBA admission officer’s “ding” on your application never happened? What if you could in fact, avoid the “dings” altogether and create a stellar application, by avoiding the most common dings, below?

This happens way too frequently among MBA applicants. In the essays, the applicant makes very general and sweepingly broad statements about “society” or “the global climate,” or “the issue” and goes on and on from their soapbox making a broad, generalized point, without really letting the admissions committee see them and who they are personally as an applicant. So, if you never use the word “I” in your essay and you find yourself talking about the various “ills of society” too much = DING.

2. DING #2:Not following though with your examples

Let’s say the question is, “Tell Us About A Time You Overcame Failure.” You have an example, you state where you were working at the time; you state what happened…the failure…and then you just stop on the negative. You’ve stated your answer as if it’s a fill-in-the-blank question. However, you have failed to provide any kind of self-reflection in the essay about why this “failure” occurred, how it influenced your life and career, and what you learned and took away from it that was positive (you always want to end on the positive). So, not stating these things, not following through on your examples is akin to answering someone in monotone = DING.

3. DING #3: Not knowing how to write well

You don’t have to be Shakespeare, you do have to be able to write well. Think about it, you’re applying for an MBA degree, and if all goes well, in the future you will be an executive or manager in charge of various employees, teams, and divisions. You better know how to write, regardless of your field. At the management level you represent the company. The MBA essays are the first place they look for clear, concise, logical and properly structured writing. If you can’t do it, get help. If you can’t do it, and you go ahead and turn bad writing in, thinking it doesn’t really matter and your essays are convoluted, unclear, grammatically incorrect or just plain confusing and/ or sounds like your eight year old wrote it = BIG DING.

4. DING #4: Not building a logical bridge

Often people use the MBA degree to bridge the gap between their past career (possibly even in a different field), and their future plans. “Dings” happen on this front however, when applicants fail to make their journey from point A to point B very clear and laid-out. How are you going to go from a mechanical engineer to a strategy consultant focused on tech investments? How does all your past experience figure in? Tell us. Tell us in detail. Make sure your plan is accurate. People switch careers all the time, and what the admission committees look for is simply: is your plan LOGICAL, does it make sense? Have you laid it out? Fail to show the necessary steps, or worse, not be clear about the steps yourself = HUGE DING.

5. DING #5: Not speaking with confidence

This one seems self-explanatory, but I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across applicants who write in a very self-deprecating way. They say things like, “if it’s possible for me to become a (fill in the blank) and go to your great school…” In other words, they put the school way up here on a pedestal, and themselves way down here in the plebeian mud. Don’t do it. The men and women who will one day be the top executives and leaders in their field KNOW they belong at these schools. There’s no self-deprecation, because they know they have just as much to contribute to the school as they will receive. There is no pedestal. Think otherwise and = DING. Show them you know you belong!

Avoid these five “dings” and you will be in much better shape than most of the MBA applicants out there. Master the essays, and you will have an excellent chance at success!

[I’m a former Harvard interviewer and a Harvard graduate and currently run the MBA admissions firm: MBA IVY LEAGUE. Like assistance with your MBA essays? I offer free phone consultations so contact me today: www.MBAIvyLeague.com ]

Last year HBS had a 12% accept rate with over 9,000 applicants. The other top MBA programs in the U.S. – Wharton, Stanford, Kellogg, Booth, Columbia and MIT Sloan, just to name a few had similar tight competition. We’ve already discussed the necessary GMAT score ranges and interview skills needed in other blog posts that give you a chance at the top. The question here then is, what makes an applicant’s MBA essay successful, and what can you do to raise yourself among the best?”

The answer to that question is to start by looking at some very successful essays. What does a good essay look like? The best resource I’ve found to pass on to the curious, is this resource here:

65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays

BUT, read with caution because even though I believe this book will help you better understand how to differentiate between a good essay and a bad one (and thereby help you honestly assess where you fall) it doesn’t do much for helping you tell your story, your background, or your professional vision. And, believe me, the ad com has read this book too, so if your essays sound too similar in structure or content to what’s in the book…let’s just say the word “ding” comes to the forefront of my mind.

So, what can you do? How can you make your MBA essays successful and land you a place at the top? HBS of course changed their requirements this year, and only asks applicants for one personal statement and are completely open in what they’re asking (read: pressure!), however other MBA programs are still asking the standard, traditional questions:

“What are your short and long-terms goals?” “Why a Columbia MBA?” (or Wharton, Stanford, NYU Stern, LBS, INSEAD), “What are Your Greatest Strengths and Weaknesses?““What Matters to You Most and Why?”and, of course, the “Optional Essay” (which should never be optional – did you hear that… make it optional and you’re passing up a great opportunity to tell the committee even more about you. You’re trying to stand out from 9,000 other applicants…I’d take that opportunity.

So, what do the successful MBA essays have in common that catapulted their authors into the Top Ten?

1. GOOD WRITING: This can’t be more stressed. Having solid experience isn’t enough, you must be able to structure your experience and narrative in a way that makes a clear and strong argument for why you would be a valuable addition to the MBA class. That’s what you’re really answering in every question — “This is what I’ve done, and this is why I am valuable.”

2. Let Them See Your Process: The ad com doesn’t just want to see a static goal, they want to understand the process of how you got there. Your decision making process. How you make and are making the hard career choices in your life and why.

That’s much more revealing about you as an applicant than just a passive, simple statement that says, “I want to be _____ when I graduate.” Show them your decision-making process and why your goals truly make sense.

3. Be Realistic: The best essays are the ones where the applicants have realistic long-term goals. This doesn’t mean your goals can’t be BIG, but it does mean that if they are big, that you already have something in your background (experience at a Fortune 500 company, a degree from an Ivy League school, patents under your name if you’re perhaps an entrepreneur). SOMETHING that shows your long-term vision has a foundation that makes it at least seem possible.

Lay out your course of action, your road map, that shows how you plan to get where you want to go. Too far-fetched with absolutely nothing to back it up = Dinged.

4. Ask for Help: There are a lot of MBA admissions firms out there now, and people are using them; your competition for that elusive HBS “Admitted” 12% is using them. Make sure you either have the confidence in your own writing skills to put your best foot forward on paper, and if you don’t, get help. The top consultants never rewrite your essays for you, but provide detailed comments and suggestions to help you get your own essays back on track.

[I’m a former Harvard admissions interviewer and a Harvard graduate, and currently run the MBA admissions firm MBA IVY LEAGUE, out of Manhattan. Like more information? Please contact me for a free phone consultation today: www.MBAIvyLeague.com]

Applying for an MBA is time consuming, as well as stressful. How many schools should you apply to? Is it even worth it to go to a “lesser” school’s MBA program? Will a mid-tier or even lower-tier school help you get to where you want to go? How many applications are average? What is the best possible strategy before you enter a land of diminished returns?

In my opinion, the most important thing an MBA candidate can do is plan and structure their application strategy. By this I mean, decide upfront if you only want to apply to the top-tier U.S. MBA programs (Kellogg, Booth, Wharton, HBS, NYU Stern, MIT Sloan, and Columbia) and if you don’t get in, reevaluate again for next round or next year….or not. OR, if you would actually be pretty pleased at a mid-tier or even lower-tier school, and if a degree from those MBA programs will truly meet your future professional needs.

I’ve had students who’ve done it both ways: some only want to go to the top MBA programs and if they don’t get in they would rather stay on their current course at their company, and perhaps get a few more years of work experience and promotion under their belt before trying again, or simply try to move up without an MBA degree.

Others, simply want to go to any MBA program that will have them, as their trust is more in the MBA degree itself than the actual school. They simply want the degree.

Which is the right choice?

In my opinion, if you have the credentials, and especially if you’re in the Finance Industry, the top programs are the only way to go. HBS, Wharton, Booth, and Kellogg, if you can get in, and this goes double if you’re an investment professional and intend to work in a large city like New York. The top schools are key in the Northeast region for advancement. A low-range school isn’t going to help you much if your dream is to quickly climb to the top of your field at Morgan Stanley or Deloitte.

However, you may not only be able to get by with a mid or lower range school if you want to set down roots in another region of the country = it might actually HELP you.

For example, say you have family and want to stay in Tennessee, Atlanta, or North Carolina. The Southern schools (Fuqua, Darden, Emory and Vanderbuilt) are going to serve you better in my opinion, than even the Top Ten schools in the NE, because your network, opportunities, and alumni connections in that particular region of the country are going to be that much stronger.

So, what do you do? First, decide where you want to be. In the NYC, shoot for the top. In the South, head for the regional schools, out West in Silicon Valley? Stanford or any of the other Top Ten are key (along with UCLA Anderson). The Midwest? Ross is a great mid-tier selection. Tailor your school choice during this application stage to your long-term location goals. It may actually give you even more opportunity than you realized.

Oh, and how many schools should you apply to? If you’re open to not limiting yourself to top-tier, spread it out so you’ll increase your overall chances, applying to some from each level: top-tier, mid-tier, low-tier. I would also think about applying to 5-6 schools. Remember, you don’t have to make a choice until you actually get in, which I sincerely hope you do!

[I’m a former Harvard interviewer and a Harvard graduate, and I currently run the MBA admissions firm MBA IVY LEAGUE, out of Manhattan. Like more information? Please fill out my contact form and request more info, today: www.MBAIvyLeague.com]